West Bengal textbooks to replace ‘pani’ to ‘jal’, ‘abba’ to ‘baba’; reduce Mughal history
Government school textbooks in India's West Bengal state may undergo significant changes, with a curriculum review committee proposing revisions to language, history and literature lessons, including replacing commonly used Bengali words such as “pani”, “abba” and “ammi” with “jal”, “baba” and “maa”.
According to reports by ABP Live, Hindustan Times and Zee News English, the committee, headed by Kalyani University professor Debashis Chatterjee, has recommended introducing lessons on Hindu nationalist leader Shyama Prasad Mukherjee while reducing coverage of Mughal rule, British colonial history and Marxist ideology.
The proposals have not yet been confirmed as implemented changes to the curriculum.
Chatterjee said the words proposed for replacement were not commonly used in everyday Bengali conversations.
Mughal history, colonial rule to receive less coverage
A senior committee official said portions dealing with Mughal rule, British colonial history in India and Marxism had been reduced in the revised history textbooks.
The proposed changes would also introduce archaeological findings from Sinauli in Uttar Pradesh and Rakhigarhi in Haryana. Chatterjee said discoveries at the two sites challenged established accounts of the arrival of the Aryans in India and their role in introducing chariots and horses.
The findings are expected to feature in the revised textbooks, although their interpretation remains a subject of historical and archaeological debate.
Changes to literature curriculum
The proposed revisions would add Rabindranath Tagore's poem “Shivaji Utsav” and Dwijendralal Roy's play “Mewar Patan” to the textbooks.
However, a play based on Nawab Siraj-ud-Daulah and Tagore's poem “Africa” have been excluded from the revised curriculum, according to the reports.
The changes would also remove chapters on the Singur movement, which opposed land acquisition for an industrial project under the previous Trinamool Congress government led by Mamata Banerjee.
The Kanyashree scheme, a state initiative providing financial assistance to girls to support their education and discourage early marriage, is also set to be removed from the textbooks.
Revised textbooks targeted for January 2027
Chatterjee said the committee had limited time to prepare the revised textbooks and had therefore prioritised amendments, corrections and improvements rather than a comprehensive overhaul of the curriculum.
The first edition of the revised books is expected to be ready by January 2027. The state plans to publish more than 120 million textbooks, with distribution scheduled to begin by January 2, according to the reports.
The committee said the publication deadline and the scale of printing had constrained the scope of the proposed changes.
Mobile phone ban, pass-fail system under consideration
The textbook proposals come as West Bengal's government considers broader changes to its school education system.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said on October 25 that the government was considering changes to school policies, including a possible ban on mobile phones in schools and the reintroduction of the pass-fail system.
Adhikari said he personally supported banning mobile phones in schools and ending the no-detention policy. He also called for the reintroduction of the National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS) and Vratchari programmes as co-curricular activities.
At the time, he said the government had not yet received the final report of the Curriculum and Syllabus Review Committee.
If approved, the proposed revisions would reshape how language, history and literature are taught in West Bengal's government schools, alongside possible changes to school discipline and extracurricular activities.